


Thursday at 8pm

by Rtarara



Series: Thursday Nights [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Busting out Kara's comic name, F/F, Kara arrived on time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:59:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8381719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rtarara/pseuds/Rtarara
Summary: Cat watched as the lights filtered in through the windows, casting shadows on Linda’s back and growing brighter as cars would pass on the street outside. The room smelled of sex and the still damp sheets made it hard to get comfortable. Linda was sleeping peacefully next to her after their romp. It was an upcharge she couldn’t quite afford, but cutting into her inheritance to spend extra time with a call girl was better than being alone with a bottle of bourbon and a long night to fill.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the sin bin for first reads and notes!!!

Cat watched as the lights filtered in through the windows, casting shadows on Linda’s back and growing brighter as cars would pass on the street outside. The room smelled of sex and the still damp sheets made it hard to get comfortable. Linda was sleeping peacefully next to her after their romp. It was an upcharge she couldn’t quite afford, but cutting into her inheritance to spend extra time with a call girl was better than being alone with a bottle of bourbon and a long night to fill. 

 

She wondered for the thousandth time how she’d gotten to this place, though she already knew answer. She had tried to be a mother, but there were too many late nights at the station. She didn’t regret having Adam and she didn’t regret having ambition, but she wished almost selfishly that she’d had support. A man in her position would be working the same number of hours that she did, but because she was a woman it made her a bad mother. She knew the courts would see it that way in the end and so she let her little boy go off to Opal City. Adam could have a happy new life where Joe would find some idiot to take her place who would be content to stay home and raise a child. That wasn’t her. It could never  _ be _ her, but that didn’t stop it from hurting every time she tried to breathe—or at least every time she tried it when she wasn’t with Linda. 

 

Alcohol was her friend through the first few months, but it could only dull the hollow feeling in her chest. It couldn’t erase it completely and that’s why one night when she hit on a beautiful woman in a bar, she didn’t walk away when she found out the girl came with a price tag. That would make it easier anyways. It was only supposed to be a night where she could fuck someone and forget for a little while. She hadn’t expected to feel like her body was on fire. She hadn’t expected to feel whole when sparkling blue eyes told her to let go. 

 

The problem was that she felt that and more every time she asked the girl into her bed. One night and a card left behind turned into another evening—just one more to get the girl out of her system. That turned into more and now they had a standing weekly appointment for four hours every Thursday night. She wanted more time, but Linda didn’t usually much care for staying over. She’d only agree on rare instances and Cat got the impression that it was because she particularly needed the money for something. It was a stark reminder that this was a transaction. 

 

That she wanted it to be more than that was the most galling part of the entire arrangement. She had turned into one of the powerful men that she wrote about who decided to destroy their lives with a prostitute because they got ideas that the arrangement was something other than the girl wanting their money. Sure they were usually balding and with a spare tire or two, but Cat was unappealing in her own way. She drove everyone away. It didn’t mean that she had to pay for sex; she was beautiful in her way and made even more so with the effort that Cat put into it. It wasn’t always the sex that she was paying for. 

 

Cat didn’t need four hours to get off. She liked to order dinner first and they’d share a bottle of wine and talk. Linda was smart. Whether she liked the work she did or something else drove her to it was irrelevant, the girl was incredibly intelligent. She would see new theories as Cat described whatever story she was running down and even admitted to wanting to be a reporter when she was younger. She would be a better one than half the Planet’s staff. Linda liked her personal library and they talked about the volumes for hours sometimes and Cat would give Linda things to borrow and read. She always seemed so excited about it and it made Cat feel happy to be able to put that look on her face somehow.  

 

On top of being sharp, she was funny in a dorky sort of way. She would make bad puns and laugh about it for entirely too long. Cat would usually quip some insult if anyone tried that in front of her, but with Linda she found herself smiling. It was charming. 

 

Linda’s nose began to twitch as a hair fell across her face and Cat moved a hand to gently tuck the strand back into place. She was the most beautiful woman Cat had ever seen. It almost hurt to look at her, but at the same time it was impossible to look away. Cat examined the lines of her face in the low light. She was flawless save for a tiny scar that rested next to her eyebrow. There were no marks on her skin, unlike Cat’s that bore white lines from where her body had stretched to accommodate Adam as he was growing. Linda never mentioned them as she kissed down her body. She only ever called Cat beautiful and exquisite and even someone as good at detecting lies as Cat was couldn’t find the falsehood. 

 

Kindness shown in Linda’s eyes whenever they were together. Even if the woman faked everything else, Cat was certain that that much was real. When Cat would tell her stories, Linda would worry about her safety and not just as a meal ticket. Cat had thought it was fake at first, but Linda also worried when Cat told her about animals that had gotten stuck in drain pipes or little kids who had gotten into strange accidents. Linda  _ cared _ and Cat had gotten addicted to being cared about more than anything else. It was pathetic. 

 

A buzzing sound on the nightstand pulled Cat’s attention. Something was rattling in the woman’s purse. Linda stirred, the sheet over her falling to reveal a well muscled back. Linda pulled a pager from the bag. Cat didn’t have a pager number for the blonde, so she felt a pang as she realized that there was a class of client above her on the list. She bit the inside of her mouth. 

 

Linda sucked in a breath, “I...do you have a phone that I could borrow?” She sounded terrified and Cat felt her worry shifting from whether or not there were clients with more privileges than her to Linda was being trafficked or forced to make a quota or something terrible. Sometimes there was a hint of a lilt to her voice like she could have been from somewhere else originally.  

 

“There’s one by the bed here.” She pointed next to her and moved to get out of the way while Linda looked torn. “Or one in the kitchen if you’d rather.” 

 

Linda looked grateful as she rolled out of bed and grabbed the robe that was hanging off the back of Cat’s bathroom door. Cat knew she shouldn’t listen in, but she couldn’t quite help herself as she turned the volume dial down low and picked up the other line. 

 

“Hello.” A young voice answered politely and Cat was confused. She wasn’t expecting that.  

 

“Hey Kal What’s going on?.” Linda replied. It seemed that the pager was personal. 

 

“Kara!” The voice was definitely belonging to a little boy and now she knew for sure that Linda was a fake name. “I was worried. You weren’t home yet and Sarah isn’t here anymore and I...wasn’t sure what to do, so I paged you.” Cat’s stomach dropped.  _ Kara  _ had a son. A son who sounded like he was at least 8 meaning she must have had him extremely young. 

 

“What do you mean Sarah isn’t there?!?!” Cat could hear Kara’s voice without the phone’s aid. What little amount of motherly instinct she had let Cat feel the fear and outrage on a visceral level. This was a nightmare scenario for parents.  “She wasn’t supposed to leave you. I made sure she knew I was going to be late.” 

 

“I don’t know. I heard the door, but I thought you were getting home.” He swallowed. “I had a bad dream and I came to find you…”

 

“But no one was home.” Her voice softened. “I’m so sorry, Little One. I’ll come home right away.” 

 

“You don’t have to Kara. I can be brave. I… I know you had to pay the school a lot of money when I broke the vending machine and that’s why you had to work overnight at the diner.” He sounded as guilty as Cat felt. That was the reason she stayed. The woman needed to pay for her kid breaking something. 

 

“Hey. Don’t worry about that. I know it was an accident, buddy. We’re fine.” She reassured him. 

 

“I always have accidents. That’s why I have to go to private school now.” His voice was even smaller than before. That explained even more. She knew what private schools cost in National City and it was obscene. It was the puzzle piece that made everything else about Kara make sense.

 

“It’s better. You were too bright for the public school you were at before, anyways. And you know that I get good tips for being friendly. You don’t have to be concerned.” The lie was clear to Cat, but she doubted a child would be able to tell. 

 

“Thanks, Kara.” The love shown through in his voice. 

 

“I’ll be home soon. Just let me talk to my boss and clock out, okay?” She questioned. 

 

“Okay. I love you.” 

 

“I love you too.” Her voice was impossibly soft and Cat found herself falling a little more. She put the receiver down carefully and pretended like she hadn’t been purposefully listening in. Kara was distracted as she started hunting for her clothes, so Cat assumed she was in the clear. 

 

“I need to go. There’s been a family emergency. I’m sorry, Cat. Raincheck?” She tugged her underwear back on and hung the robe back up as she started to fasten her bra. 

 

“That’s fine. Family comes first.” She tried not to tip her hand, but she wanted Kara to know that she understood. “I’ll see you next week?” She couldn’t keep a hint of hopefulness out of her voice as she asked. She should stop this. The whole sordid affair made Cat feel impossibly dirty. 

She was taking advantage of a single mother trying to do the best for her kid, but at the same time she knew she had to be better than most clients, right? She was well groomed and respectful of boundaries. She followed the rule to not do anything that would leave a mark. She listened when Kara spoke and put effort in on the nights Kara seemed to want her affections to be returned. None of the justifications quite stuck. 

 

“Of course. Thursday at 8 o’clock. It’s one of the highlights of my week.” She spared a moment to smile at Cat and Cat returned it. That had to be a lie, but a part of her felt that it was true. She heard the lie on the phone and she could always tell with everyone else. It was infuriating that she didn’t know for sure. If she knew for sure…maybe Kara wouldn’t mind her working a lot if she provided a home for Kara and her son. Maybe Kara could even work with her, god knew the woman was good enough. Maybe Kara really did support her goals and they could be a terribly modern sort of couple and maybe—she didn’t let herself finish the thought. It was too painful to think about and too ridiculous to consider. 

 

“And mine as well.” She wouldn’t lie about that. As Kara finished adjusting her clothes, Cat reached into the nightstand and pulled out an envelope, passing it over. It was a show of trust earned over the better part of a year that she was allowed to pay after, usually leaving it on Kara’s nightstand before she fell asleep. 

 

Kara looked through and pulled out a chunk of bills, trying to hand it back. “I...didn’t stay all night this time.”

 

Cat pushed the money back towards her, “Keep it.” She knew the woman needed it and as sophomoric as it was, a part of her wanted Kara to know part of this wasn’t just about time for money. 

 

“You don’t...you shouldn’t have to...I…” Kara protested, clearly torn between pride and wanting to take it. 

 

“It’s okay. Consider it a tip. I...value our time together.” Kara’s eyes looked into hers and for a moment she let the truth slip through. She was falling in love with her. She wanted her despite the fact that it was a terrible idea. She wanted her knowing that she would never have her because she’d never tell her the truth out loud. 

 

“I...it’s important to me too. I...I like coming here.” Kara’s smile was sad, but it made Cat’s heart ache. They stayed like that for a moment before Kara took a breath. “I need to…” She gestured towards the door. 

 

“Of course. Goodbye...Linda.” She used the name she was allowed. 

 

“Goodbye Cat.” Kara walked out of the apartment and Cat brought her arm up to cover her eyes. She reached over into the nightstand drawer and fishing out a cigarette. Being with Kara was too much, but it was never enough. She tried to clear her mind with the smoke—another habit Cat should quit, but thoughts of the next week came unbidden. Maybe it was time to get serious about moving east and taking Perry White up on his offer. Maybe space would allow her to forget. She couldn’t keep going like this, but she wasn’t sure that she could stop either. She wasn’t even sure that she wanted to. A thousand possibilities danced in her mind, but Kara found her way into all of them. She’d buy the bigger bottle of bourbon on her way home tomorrow. She had another sort of pain to try and dull until next Thursday. 


End file.
